Issues of Trust
by Beth6787
Summary: Set immediately post 'The Voyager Conspiracy'. Despite her cortical overload and erroneous scenarios, Seven does highlight some uncomfortable facts...


February 2018

Beth6787

Issues of Trust

Set immediately post 'The Voyager Conspiracy.' Despite her cortical overload and erroneous scenarios, Seven does highlight some uncomfortable facts...

Kathryn and Chakotay were winding up their evening after a very stressful day. As they sank back into their dining chairs with the final coffees of the night Chakotay remarked "At the end of the day, Seven was malfunctioning. We don't have that excuse."

Kathryn raised her eyes to meet his, feeling more than a little ashamed "You're right : we don't. We've been through far too much together to stop trusting each other now."

Chakotay looked thoughtfully at her for a moment then decided to ease the underlying tension simmering in the air between them. Glancing down at his mug he quipped "You didn't poison the coffee did you?"

"Not any more than I usually do" she parried with. And with that any lingering discomfort between them faded away as it had so many times in the past.

At least, that was what she had thought, until Chakotay hesitated at the door then looked back over his shoulder at her. She could see that something was on his mind and she knew from experience that she wouldn't sleep - mulling over the possibilities ad nauseum - unless she had it out with him. Now.

"Spit it out Chakotay." But again he hesitated.

Should I ask her? He mulled over in his head. Oh, he wanted to know the answer, but having just agreed to be honest and open with one another he did not want to jeopardise their newly refreshed truce, should she choose to obfuscate. He could see from the look in her eye that she was not about to let it pass. "Regardless of Seven's far fetched conspiracy theories she did present a couple of facts that I do not know the answer to...and I was wondering..."

"Whether I do?" Kathryn finished for him. He nodded, hesitantly, at her.

"Yes and no, Chakotay. Yes, the tri-cobalt torpedoes were added to our armoury whilst we were on stop over at Deep Space 9, boarding the last of our crew. The Admiralty wanted to test how well the weapons monitoring systems would integrate with our novel bio-neural gel pack circuitry. As both systems were state of the art and highly experimental it was decided to arm us at the last minute to minimise the risk of any information leaks. Chief Miles O'Brien was directly responsible for their installation and integration with our tactical systems. As for the mysterious tractor beam that appeared directed at the secondary tetryon reactor within the Array? I have no idea. Do you?"

"Of course not! Let's not open that particular can of worms again. But, Kathryn, don't you find it a little odd that those tri-cobalt devices were suddenly installed on the outskirts of the Badlands, just as you were about to come after me? You would hardly have needed such powerful weaponry to disable the Val Jean or indeed any other Maquis raider. In fact, they were excessive even for taking out a Romulan Warbird! And why three of them? Surely a single torpedo would have answered the requirement for engineering and tactical data?"

He had her there. "I don't know the answer to that Chakotay. And..."

He could see how uncomfortable she was feeling as she looked away and headed for her favourite retreat near the viewport. "And...Tuvok used all three of them to destroy the Array. Leaving us none for the rest of our journey through unknown space...facing potentially extreme danger...we already knew about the multiple Kazon sects in that region of space..."

"Hardly a rational and prudent Tactical decision, especially from a Vulcan, was it?" Chakotay finished for her. There was something they were both missing. He was sure of it. "The only person who can answer our questions is Tuvok. He is more likely to be willing to speak to you than me. However, as First Officer and head of personnel, I could..."

Kathryn turned and faced him. "No. Leave Tuvok to me. And Chakotay : I will share my findings with you. Whatever they are and wherever they lead us."

He knew that had been hard for her. She had a long association with Tuvok and trusted him implicitly. She would not willingly place herself between the two of them : if she did discover anything that could alter the dynamic of their triumvirate...

It was time to leave and give her some space. He had given voice to the elephant in the room and now the ball was firmly in her court. "Goodnight Kathryn."

She inclined her head and gave him a weary half smile "Goodnight." And with that he was gone.

Kathryn looked at her chronometer. 2240 hours. Not ridiculously late and Tuvok would most likely still be up. Meditating or completing Tactical reports. Perhaps it was better to deal with this now. Wrap the whole incident up as soon as possible and move on. She and Chakotay had already agreed to keep the entire episode out of their formal and personal logs and she needed Tuvok to do the same. So she had a legitimate reason to speak to him in confidence tonight. Perhaps he could at least shed some light on the tri-cobalt devices. If nothing else.

Her decision made she headed out towards Tuvok's quarters.

—-

Six years earlier on an unnamed trading post in the Badlands...

Tuvok glanced again at his chronometer. His contact was late and he could not prevaricate for much longer. He had arranged that he and Seska take the shuttle to go get the particle accelerators and plasma couplings needed to make the Val Jean space worthy again. He had persuaded her that it would be quicker and draw less attention to them if they split up and made the deals separately and she had, reluctantly, agreed. They did not trust each other. None of the Maquis truly did, but his being obviously Vulcan made him an automatic outsider. There were no Vulcan colonies in the DMZ so they distrusted his motives for joining the rebellion. Any sign of duplicity and they would kill him. Of that he was sure.

Just then a human clad all over in black, tapped him on the shoulder. "It's all arranged. Voyager is being fitted with the necessary upgrades as we speak. Have you confirmed the identity of the one calling herself Seska?"

Tuvok completed the retinal scan. I.D. Confirmed. It was Sloan. Section 31. "Yes. The DNA samples you supplied me with had been very carefully modified. However, we have exceptional facilities at our disposal."

Tuvok did not doubt it. Sloan looked at him "Not only is she Cardassian, as you suspected. I can confirm her true identity is Agent Zafarie of the Obsidian Order. Trained under one Elim Garak nine years ago before he vanished from Cardassia Prime to re-appear as a lowly tailor with a small stall on the promenade of Deep Space 9. She is also the eldest daughter of one Gul Dukat. The overseer of the ore mining station -previously known as Terok Nor during the occupation - and Prefect of Bajor Major. If Cardassia is risking the life of Dukat's daughter for this mission then.."

Tuvok nodded. "She has been tasked with acquiring the Array's tetryon reactor on the next outing of Chakotay's ship. Which means I can expect the Val Jean to be led to the coordinates where the distortion wave is most likely to hit. Janeway will be led to the same coordinates by the trail I am leaving her and be drawn into the Delta Quadrant within days of our arrival. If Zafarie/Seska has already acquired the reactor the Obsidian Order ship will attempt to tractor the Val Jean through the rift, otherwise it will lock onto the Array. Either way I will ensure that the tri-cobalt yield is sufficient to destroy both the tetryon reactor and the Cardassian ship as the shock wave permeates sub space. How many torpedoes did you manage to acquire?"

Sloan looked at him. "All three. There are no more in existence, and fully operational, at this time. Starfleet Intelligence places the utmost priority on this mission. It cannot fail. A Cardassian Empire with the ability to traverse between quadrants within minutes..." He needed to say no more. They both knew what was at stake.

Tuvok saw Seska approaching in the distance and when he looked back Sloan had vanished back into the world of shadows that was his natural domain.

He hurried over with the plasma couplings Sloan had handed him. They were old and their functionality was dubious. But that was the norm for the Maquis. They were often double crossed and more times than not they left empty handed. Tuvok winced as he approached "Seska we need to get out of here, now! Our contact tried to double cross me so I was forced to slit his throat and help myself. They are probably as dud as those already on the Val Jean but you and Torres may be able to salvage something from them." Sloan had obligingly slashed Tuvok's tunic and left him with a convincingly deep cut to his left thorax. It was not life threatening yet but he needed to get back to their base and fast.

She gave him an irritated look. "I knew that we should have stuck together. He wouldn't have dared cheat me. See" she thrust her hands into her jacket pockets and flashed a brand new set of phaser couplings at him "and they cost us nothing."

Tuvok decided it was prudent not to ask, besides if he didn't hurry she would be out of sight and the whole mission compromised. As he raced after her he just hoped that Captain Janeway would not ask too many questions of Chief O'Brien or Starfleet Command.

—-

Present day...

He had been trying to meditate for the last couple of hours : without success. So, Seven had uncovered the fact that there was a tractor beam targeting the tetryon reactor within the Array just before the second tri-cobalt device detonated.

In the event, Seska had not been able to access the Array to remove the secondary reactor so it had still been in situ when the Captain had ordered the Array destroyed. That had been the most risky part of his mission. He wasn't in command of Voyager. Kathryn Janeway was. Had she decided not to destroy the Caretaker's Array he would have had to stun her and do it himself. Which would have exposed the fact that there was a whole other agenda. That her mission to the Badlands to capture Chakotay's cell was a smokescreen for a far more important mission. She had been kept as much in the dark as the Maquis Captain.

Neither knew Seska's true identity. Even now. Of course they had found out she was a Cardassian and Chakotay had just assumed that she was sent to spy on his little terrorist cell. Tuvok had expected him to believe that, but had been surprised that Captain Janeway had accepted it readily too.

Starfleet Command must have done a decent job of making Chakotay's terror cell seem far more significant than they actually were. Sloan had obviously embellished the intelligence file quite significantly. But then Kathryn Janeway and he were friends. She trusted him...so she would have assumed that everything was above board, his being the infiltrator assigned to the Val Jean.

He would have to hope that with the focus being on Seven's cortical overload, they would assume that the data she had unearthed was corrupted too. That the Captain would give it no further thought. If she did...suffice to say that Kathryn Janeway was highly intelligent and inquisitive. She would keep digging until or unless...

He did not wish to go there. Even as a purely hypothetical in his mind's eye.

—-

Six years earlier...

Gul Horzak ordered his Glinn to monitor the surrounding space to within ten thousand parsecs for epsilon particles accompanied by an oscillating neutrino pulse at 1056GHz. As soon as the two combined to lock onto coordinates. "A rift will appear in subspace as the Starfleet people attempt to destroy the reactor. Once the tri-cobalt device detonates we will have a maximum of six seconds before the rift closes. If the tetryon reactor is not through in time we will not get a second chance. Failure will result in my initiating our self destruct. Are we clear?"

Glinn Damar knew the stakes. Failure and death were one and the same. Besides he was being transferred to the command of Gul Dukat after this mission was over. Being able to present him with the tetryon reactor and the safe retrieval of his daughter Zafarie would mostly likely earn him a promotion to Gul himself. Within months. Though it might be prudent to stop by at the genetics lab on route home. He was not sure how Dukat would react to his daughter's Bajoran disguise : he had no intention of finding out!

Sure enough, within another five minutes the rift began to open. Damar locked on the tractor beam and started to pull the tetryon reactor through. Six, five, four, three, two , one...a small section of the Caretaker's Array materialised in their vicinity just before the rift sealed. It was smoking and pieces of debris were breaking off into space.

"Get an emergency containment field around that debris and transport in into the hold. Now!" bellowed Horzak.

"Done. It's secured." Replied Damar as they both raced for the lift.

On entering the hold they found a fused mass of components and a lump of what appeared to be a crystalline rock. Damar scanned both. The rock held some biological residue. Could this be the remains of the alien that created the device? What was left of the reactor was clearly beyond repair. He looked at Horzak.

The Gul was thinking fast "Get an engineering team down here. Fast. It will take us fifteen days to reach Cardassia Prime at warp 5. They have fourteen to dissect...this...and create a fully operational replica. As for Dukat's daughter..."

Damar was ahead of him "I suggest we detour to Rigel III .I can call in a favour with a certain surgeon there and Glinn Tayila already bears a striking resemblance. Not to mention she and Zafarie go back some years. Dukat will not know the difference."

Gul Horzak clapped him on the back. "You may yet make Gul, Damar. Come! Time for some Kanar to celebrate our successful mission."

Damar thanked all the Fates that he had not been destined to become an engineer.

—-

Kathryn Janeway stood outside Tuvok's door and hesitated. He probably knew no more than she about Starfleet's decision to upgrade their weapons manifest at the last moment before entering the Badlands. Perhaps he was just being thorough. She had emphasised how important it was to completely destroy the array. Tuvok, being Tuvok, had prioritised ensuring that her orders were fully implemented. So it had been excessive to use all three devices at once. They certainly could have made use of the other two against the Borg and species 8472 later in their travels...but Tuvok no more had a crystal ball to predict the future than she did.

And here she was. About to ask questions that could only imply that she did not fully trust him. On the other hand, if he DID know something and had consciously kept it from her for all these years...

Whatever the cost : she had to know.

She chimed the intercom.

Tuvok knew who it was before he spoke "Enter". It could only be her. At this time of night and choosing to discuss the matter here. Which meant that she had fitted at least some of the pieces together. No doubt over dinner with Commander Chakotay earlier this evening. Chakotay would not fully comprehend the enormity of what he had seen. Kathryn Janeway was another matter entirely.

She stood watching him. He had said nothing since the summons to enter. On the surface he looked as stoic and impassive as ever. But she had known him for over twelve years now. He did not fool her. He knew why she was here and he was withholding something momentous from her. She sensed it with every fibre of her being. Call it female intuition if you like, she thought, bitterly. Her oldest and dearest friend and mentor : or so she had always believed. Until now.

"Please. Have a seat Captain. May I get you some refreshment?"

So this was going to be a long story and a late night. And she needed to stay sharp. Of that she was now absolutely certain. "My usual, please Tuvok." She said pointedly. Reminding him of just how long and strong an association they had forged through the many trails they had endured together. She hoped that counted for as much to him as it did to her.

After they were sat in the armchairs facing each other with the refreshments set out on the table between them he began. "You are here to ask me about the data Seven uncovered. Which led to her myriad hypotheses?"

"That. And the fact that we - conveniently - happened to have three highly experimental and deadly tri-cobalt torpedoes at our disposal on arrival in the Delta Quadrant. Co-incidentally..." she let that hang in the air "the only devices aboard that would be capable of destroying a tetryon powered reactor. In fact, the only technology known to the Federation - as far as I am aware - that could do so." She waited.

"I concur Captain. It was indeed most fortunate."

" Most fortunate for whom exactly, Tuvok?"

"The Ocampa spring to mind Captain. Had we not been able to destroy the Array and all it's technology ..."

She had had enough. "Drop the act Tuvok. The Kazon had no knowledge of tetryon based technology or indeed any reason to want to traverse such distances. And it wasn't the Kazon trying to tractor that reactor away. We both know it. Who was it Tuvok?"

So, it was crunch time. Openly lie to her and she would never trust him again. Out here, that could get them all killed. But if he told her the truth...that her whole mission had been based on a lie...that had they positioned themselves between the array and the tractor beam they would have been back in the Badlands facing just one Cardassian Galor Class ship...

She watched his face. The fleeting emotions crossing his eyes and not being suppressed quite fast enough for her to misread them. Whatever Tuvok was withholding, it had to be momentous. She changed tactic. "Tuvok. We have been colleagues and friends for well over a decade now. I have always trusted you implicitly. All I am asking is that you afford me the same respect. Whatever it is cannot be worse to me than knowing you are choosing to withhold the information from me. It is obvious to me that you know why we were carrying the tri-cobalt devices and...I strongly suspect that you have a good idea where that tractor beam originated from. Am `I right?"

"Yes." He added nothing more. Imploring her with his eyes not to probe further.

He watched her, reading her like a book after all these years. She already knew that Seska was a Cardassian spy. Perhaps he could hint without having to spell everything out to her. "You are aware that several Alpha Quadrant ships were drawn into this Quadrant by the Caretaker in the months preceding our arrival...and that several of those were Cardassian ships?"

She nodded. Yes, the intelligence reports had listed several Cardassian warships lost in the same region of the `Badlands as Voyager although that had been put down to the Maquis having a powerful new weapon at their disposal...no! Surely Chakotay had not known about the Array? Had Seven been right all along?

"It came to the attention of Starfleet Intelligence that one of those ships had been acquired a year before from the Cardassian Military by the Obsidian Order."

Kathryn was stunned. That she had not expected. So the Cardassian Secret Service had acquired a Cardassian warship and were sitting in the Badlands waiting to tractor through the tetryon reactor from the Array. And how on earth would Tuvok know that? He was only a Lieutenant, senior grade, in Starfleet Security. Nowhere near senior enough to be privy to such sensitive information. Hell ! The Admiralty had not seen fit to make her privy to it : and she had been the Captain of the ship fitted with the means to stop them. Suddenly it all started to fall into place.

"Tuvok. Please tell me you didn't know that we would be hit with that displacement wave...and end up stranded here?"

If a Vulcan heart could break, then this would be what it would feel like. "Captain. Kathryn. Yes, I knew that the Val Jean was heading for the area of space where the displacement wave was most likely to hit. Whether Voyager would follow us through...that was not certain. Had you not, my orders were to stop Agent Zafarie at all costs. She and the rest of theVal Jean crew would no doubt attempt to take control of the Array. I was to take whatever measures were needed to prevent that."

"Agent Zafarie?"

"You knew her as Seska."

Kathryn could feel her blood running cold and her world shifting around her. Tuvok had been sent on a mission to the Delta Quadrant to stop a top Obsidian Order Agent from acquiring the Array technology for the Cardassian Empire. And her ship had been equipped to provide him with the means to do that. She and her entire crew were pawns in a game that she had had no foreknowledge of. And it had cost over forty people their lives and stranded one hundred and thirty eight of them here in the Delta Quadrant for the last six years and goodness knows how many more. She was speechless.

Tuvok decided that he owed her full disclosure. It would be of little consolation now but if there was to be even the remotest chance of regaining her trust and friendship then nothing else would suffice. "Agent Zafarie was the eldest daughter of Gul Dukat. The Commander in charge of the occupying forces on Bajor Major and the ore processing station Terok Nor. Now, of course, Deep Space 9. She was tasked with acquiring the reactor for the Obsidian Order which is trying to wrestle power away from the Cardassian Military. If they were to succeed in acquiring such a powerful weapon they would have a significant strategic advantage. Not just over their own people but Starfleet as well. That would tip the power balance in their favour and no doubt they would aim to conquer Federation space. Now, with the Dominion in the picture too..."

She understood the need to stop Seska/Zafarie and her agenda. But how did Chakotay fit in to this and just who was Tuvok working for? It certainly hadn't been her she realised. And it hurt like a dagger through the heart.

"Captain Chakotay was insignificant. His resistance cell and ship were just a convenient cover for Seska. I was placed undercover on the ship solely because Seska was there. As for me. Suffice to say that I answer to Starfleet Intelligence at the highest level. I can not divulge more than that. Voyager was assigned to the pursuit and retrieval because with her advanced tactical and weapons systems she was deemed to have the best chance of using the Array to return to Federation space whilst simultaneously destroying the technology by firing the tri-cobalt devices back through the rift just before we emerged back in the Badlands. Unfortunately, events did not play out that way."

Kathryn felt sick. So it really was her fault. Only she had no way of delivering her people home because she had been kept in the dark as to their true mission. At least Tuvok could bear as much of the blame as she! He had known - all along - just how much she had been suffering. How much she had chastised herself for their predicament and all along he had set them up...

She needed to get away. To be alone...to try and process.

"Goodnight Tuvok." She vaguely heard him whisper something as the doors slid shut behind her but it was lost to the screaming inside her mind.

—-

Chakotay knew something was very wrong. She had appeared on the Bridge at 0700 sharp, handed over to him as she had stormed past, and made straight for her ReadyRoom. There had been no sight nor sound from her since and it was now 0920 hours. Enough time had passed for him to check in on her. He stood to hand over the Bridge to Tuvok before heading in there but was surprised to see the Vulcan beckon him over to the Tactical station first. "Commander, please, tread carefully. She has had some unsettling news."

Try as he might, Chakotay could get nothing further out of the reticent Vulcan. Without causing a scene in front of the entire Alpha shift, he would have to go in there blind. But he strongly suspected that Kathryn had paid Tuvok a visit after their dinner the night before. And heard something that bode ill for them all.

She did not answer his chime so he used his emergency override codes and instigated the privacy lock as soon as he entered. They could not now be disturbed by anyone. The room was at minimal illumination and Kathryn was curled up on the window sill staring into the abyss. She did not move or register his presence but he could see the tears streaming down her face reflected in the window pane. And judging by the number of coffee cups strewn across her desk she had done nothing bar drug herself up to the eyeballs with caffeine.

He approached her softly and drew the spare chair up beside her. Sitting down he placed his hand, reassuringly he hoped, on her lower arm. "Kathryn, talk to me. What did Tuvok tell you last night?"

She did not initially respond. Still staring out of the window, the only acknowledgment that he was present was the slight trembling of her arm beneath his gentle touch. Whatever Tuvok had told her had done profound damage. That was obvious to him and also of deep concern. He was already regretting having pushed her for answers last night. Perhaps those answers had cost her far more than they stood to gain from having a fuller picture.

Eventually she spoke. It was more a dazed whisper. As though she didn't recognise the words coming from her own mouth. "You were right Chakotay. Tuvok knew...everything." The look she gave him as she turned around conveyed such desolation that he began to wonder whether Tuvok was actually a Cardassian agent himself! That being the very worst scenario he could picture off the top of his head.

"Kathryn, whatever he told you. We will shoulder the burden together. Perhaps if we put our heads together we can find a solution..."

She squeezed his arm and laughed bitterly "Oh, there is no solution to this. Believe me! And the worst part is that I was so naive. If only I'd asked more questions at the time. Not accepted what I was told at face value. Not blindly followed Tuvok's lead...then none of you would have been stranded out here. I knew that it was my fault and I had thought it was my considered decision. Now I know that I was a pawn in a game. A pawn that ended the lives of the crew I lost and destroyed the futures of those still with us..." she couldn't hold her voice steady any longer. She stood up and stride over to the upper level window. Needing some distance. She had promised to share with Chakotay what she discovered but she just felt so foolish. So used...so sick to her stomach.

"Please Chakotay. Can we discuss this later? I just need some more time...to come to terms with..."

Whatever 'it' was he needed to know. And now. Tuvok had very obviously shattered her trust in him and as third in command behind himself this had major implications for the entire command structure and possibly the ongoing safety of the ship. "Kathryn, I know you are hurting but the implications on the here and now..."

There was a moment's pause then he saw her physically gather herself together. With a straightening of her shoulders and a deep breath she drew herself up and mentally morphed from Kathryn to Captain Janeway. He was right. As her First Officer he warranted full disclosure and Lieutenant Commander Tuvok was still their Tactical Officer. They had a command decision to make, regardless of her personal feelings.

She came and sat at her desk, noting that Chakotay had cleared away the detritus and there was a steaming pot of strong black coffee sitting between them. And two fresh mugs. He poured whilst she gathered her thoughts.

"We are going to need that coffee Chakotay, I hope it's maximum strength."

Then she began to relay her conversation with Tuvok from the night before and reality shifted beneath them once again and the universe reflected through a mirror darkly.

—-

She had left nothing out and toned nothing down. Giving Chakotay every brutal fact. Now the silence fell between them as she watched him trying to absorb it all. The implications both then and now.

Chakotay mulled it all over in his mind. He knew he had to get the Captain to focus. Discuss the professional ramifications. As for Kathryn, the damage was enormous. Probably irreparable. As Chakotay he would do his best to salve the wounds this evening and he would be dealing with Tuvok once this shift was over. There would be no doubt in the Vulcan's mind that any future 'life shattering' revelations came through him.

He steadied his voice and faced her with as calm a demeanour as he could drum up. "Captain" he had used her rank with deliberation and she had seen it. Good. They both needed to focus now.

"We need to establish whether Tuvok is still under external command. I suggest we review every personal and tactical status report he has transmitted to the Alpha Quadrant since we made contact through Pathfinder. Although a remote possibility, there may have been previous transmissions that we were not aware of. For example through the micro-wormhole within the first few months of our journey. It is likely that Tuvok would have tried to determine whether that Cardassian tractor beam had been successful in obtaining any intact technology before the rift closed. If the Cardassian Empire has traded such information with the Dominion then..."

"The ramifications are ongoing." Captain Janeway pitched in. "You are right, I need to grill Tuvok further. Last night ...it was just such a shock that I left abruptly. Wanting some time alone to process it all."

"Captain, if I may, let me speak to Tuvok. He will know that he has had a personal impact on his friend Kathryn as well as the professional one on his Captain...No, let me finish, please." He could see that she about to intervene to assure him that her professional objectivity had not been compromised but there was more at stake than that " He will expect you to re-visit this. Once you have had time to regroup after the initial shock. But he also thinks that he has a fair chance of manipulating you, based on your long and enduring friendship. There has never been any love lost between myself and our third in command. He knows it as well as I. He will also know that you have confided in me. That we are pulling together as a team to get to the bottom of this. If there are still two sets of orders being transmitted from the Admiralty, even now...it is imperative that we ascertain who is truly in command of Voyager."

He was right and she knew it. And it had to be hurting him too. To know that he was merely a pawn in a far bigger game and that he had been seduced not only by a Cardassian spy but a member of the elite Obsidian Order. Gul Dukat's first born no less. And they still needed to decide about his future role on the Bridge. If she relieved him of duty pending enquiries then it would become public knowledge, at least amongst the senior staff, that something was very wrong. How she would keep the truth under wraps after that she had no idea and the implications for everyone on board should the real story emerge...the hurt...the mistrust...it would be impossible to carry on with their mission home. "Alright, Chakotay. You speak to him today. On the meantime we have to appear to carry on as normal. If at all possible I would prefer not to have to relieve him of his station or rank. For the sake of the whole crew this needs to go no further than between the three of us."

Good. They were on the same wavelength. "Dinner. My quarters at 2100?" He suggested.

" 'Til then Commander. Now to get back to MY Bridge." She gave him a wry smile as she got up to leave. Face calm and hair back in place. Ready for what would appear a totally unremarkable day for the rest of the Voyagers.

—-

He had expected it. A summons to the First Officer's office as soon as their official shift completed at 1800 hours. He had assumed that the Captain would be joining them. A show of strength in numbers and a psychological advantage. But there appeared to be only himself and the other man, whether that was The Commander or Chakotay he did not yet know. He hoped the latter, as having the volatile former Maquis fixated on Kathryn's feelings rather than the implications for the chain of command, would be far easier for him to deal with. He was not in luck.

"Lieutenant Commander Tuvok, it has come to my attention that there is a potentially ongoing security breech of the utmost significance to the wellbeing of all aboard Voyager. As far as the Captain and I know, you could still be passing information to 'Starfleet Intelligence' by which I'm guessing we are talking Section 31. Am I correct?"

Tuvok was taken aback. He had not assumed the Captain would have joined the dots quite so proficiently. At least he could put her mind at ease on that score. He had had no contact with Section 31 since the Val Jean had entered the Delta Quadrant. Although he had tried to find out whether the tractor beam had been successful in acquiring any hardware through the rift. Seven's revelations had only come to light a few days ago. There would be another three weeks until the incoming data stream arrived from the Midas Array.

"I did not realise that I had become quite so transparent to the Captain..."

Chakotay eyed him coldly "You haven't. Kathryn would assume that you were working through official channels for the good of the Federation. That the Admiralty had tasked you with some noble mission that they had deigned in their wisdom that she should not be privy too. Let's just say that over the years I have had some less salubrious dealings with the almighty Starfleet. Now I know that Seska was Gul Dukat's daughter...let's just say I would expect a certain covert agent to be involved. Do I really have to name him?"

"Apparently I underestimated you Commander Chakotay. For that I am glad. Our Captain, she needs a good friend she can trust to have her back. I had assumed that that task fell solely to me. Perhaps I was wrong...?"

"I think we can safely say you have been wrong about a lot of things Tuvok. Most pertinently, your choice to keep Captain Kathryn Janeway in the dark about the true agenda of her mission for all these years. Was the image that Seven discovered of the tractor beam a revelation? Not to me. Don't worry, no one else on this ship had discovered it. Apparently not even you. Yes, I intercepted that encoded message you sent to Admiral Brand forty eight hours ago. It has been destroyed. And no. I have no intention of concealing that fact from the Captain. You see, I was suspicious the moment I became aware that Voyager was armed with tri-cobalt torpedoes. An ex-Fleet Tactical Commander still has some contacts, even once he is no more than a common criminal member of a 'terrorist' organisation. Initially, I was suspicious that Captain Janeway knew all about your covert mission. She readily went along with allowing you to use all three tri-cobalt devices at once. A reckless tactical decision to say the least : unless we were going to enter the rift on the tail of that tractor beam. It was only after she did not, and then I saw her private agony at having stranded us all out here, that I realised that she did not have a clue. It became apparent to me soon enough that Starfleet had an agenda and were operating on board through you. Though I had assumed that it was Starfleet trying to obtain the Array's technology through covert channels. Apparently we were also being manipulated by the Cardassian Obsidian Order and Section 31. That only became known to me once the Captain filled me in on your discussions last night. On a professional level, I am barring you from any further direct communication with the Alpha Quadrant for the remainder of our voyage. Any further measures will be for the Captain to decide upon. On a personal level : stand up!"

Tuvok knew what was coming and did nothing to deflect it. The human hit harder than he had expected and he stumbled backwards. "If you ever hurt Kathryn like this again it will be the last thing you ever do. That is not a threat, it is a fact. Dismissed."

Tuvok dipped his head slightly in acknowledgment then headed for the door. Just before he left he turned and looked the furious human in the eye "I'm glad she has you Commander Chakotay. Perhaps you should tell her...everything."

And with that he was out of the door.

—-

Dinner had been a struggle, neither of them having an appetite although Chakotay's hazelnut roast was usually her favourite. They had retired to his sofa and he had insisted on a shot of whiskey for them both. So she had known it was going to be bad.

But it had been a revelation to know that Chakotay had seen so much more than she. And that he had harboured suspicions about her and those tri-cobalt devices all along. If only she had trusted him a little more in those first months out here and Tuvok a little less. She should have probed much deeper at the time, she had just been so focussed on their survival. And Tuvok had tried to contact Admiral Brand during their last data transmission home. Was Brand linked to Section 31? Was Tuvok an active member of that organisation? As quickly as they were answering one set of questions they were uncovering another.

"So where do we go from here, Commander?" She needed his professional assessment of the situation. To regain some objectivity.

"There is no other option but to keep Tuvok in his current post. I have already informed him that he will have no access to direct message transmissions through Midas for the rest of our journey home. All communiques will be restricted to personal notes to family members only and will be routed past both you and I before they are sent. I will personally submit the Tactical reports from now on. Tuvok will simply sign them off." He took her hand to convey that he was serious about them working as a team "with your permission, of course?"

She squeezed his hand lightly although she could not find the strength to drum up a smile "I agree. Thank you Chakotay. And I am sorry that I did not question matters when we were docked at Deep Space 9. I should never have just accepted those sudden upgrades to our armaments without questioning the Admiralty further at the time. I was just so focussed on achieving a successful outcome to my maiden mission...that `I was blinded to what was staring me in the face. If it wasn't for Seven and her efficiency drive..."

He smiled "It's about time that I changed my attitude to her. Although it can try the patience of a saint, her 'assimilation' of all available data has been a blessing in disguise this time. Though I hope there is nothing else quite this momentous for her to unearth!"

"So do I, Chakotay. So do I."

"If it's of any consolation, I need you to know that your original mission was an undisputed success. You did indeed capture Captain Chakotay and his Maquis cell. You have completely captured all their hearts and minds and not one of them regrets being here on this ship with you. And that goes for their former leader most of all." He hoped that she understood, despite the intense level of emotional turmoil she was currently enduring.

"Chakotay, of all the things that have happened and that I have endured these past six years...the one thing I do not regret for one moment is capturing you." There was just the hint of a glint in her eye. She was telling him that both the Captain and Kathryn would survive and get past this. And that they had reached a far deeper understanding and level of trust than ever before. Far from this being a shattering revelation that broke the bonds between the command team, it had served to bind them ever more strongly together.

"Though it's time we wrap this evening's dinner up. I have to speak to Tuvok..."

He had been dreading this moment. The next hour or so would be the hardest of Kathryn's life. Of that he was sure. Now the future of the three of them was in her hands. He just hoped that underneath it all, Tuvok's friendship and respect for her were genuine.

With that Kathryn Janeway left for her date with destiny.

—

Two hours later...

He sat completely motionless. Staring intensely at the steady flame in front of him. It had been a difficult couple of hours, even for a Vulcan who could call upon the techniques he had mastered to keep all emotion at bay. She was hurting and would no doubt continue to do so for the rest of their journey through life together. And so we he. Although they had reached an understanding : he could not undo those things he had left unsaid. Those that he had chosen to conceal from her...even after all these years out here. On the surface and as far as the crew were concerned, all was as it always had been. But for the three of them...maybe far better.

He had felt it towards the end of their ...intense discussion. The unspoken attachment she had with him was loosening and she was gravitating, slowly but inexorably, towards Chakotay. Not just the Commander and First Officer, but the man. He very much hoped that that would continue and that they would at last truly find one another. And if he had to carry a little more of her loneliness : it was a burden he was more than willing to bear.

THE END

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